'I worked in Keir Starmer's No10 - this is the impact Mandelson scandal will have'

'I worked in Keir Starmer's No10 - this is the impact Mandelson scandal will have'James Lyons, Former Downing Street Director of Strategic Communications, writes for The Mirror about the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal - and warns the crisis will continue to haunt the PMCommentsNewsopinionJames Lyons17:48, 21 Apr 2026Updated 17:53, 21 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesA row has erupted after it emerged Peter Mandelson failed security vetting for his appointment as Britain's Ambassador to the US(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)Peter Mandelson once described his relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as like “dog muck you can’t get off your shoe”.‌Mandelson has walked that dog muck right through Downing Street - and the stench is overpowering.‌The peer was appointed HMA Washington, jewel in the crown of our diplomatic postings, despite being red flagged by the Vetting Service set up to safeguard national security. Accusations that the Prime Minister was lying when he said he did not know were comprehensively put to bed on Tuesday.‌Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office chief forced out over the scandal, told MPs that he personally decided the risks posed – and we may never know what they were – could be managed.Astonishingly, Robbins took the decision without seeing the vetting report. The mandarin seems to regard the contents as so secret he couldn’t even tell himself what was in it.READ MORE: Mandelson scandal LIVE: Keir Starmer tells Cabinet Olly Robbins made 'error of judgment'View 2 ImagesOlly Robbins, the Foreign Office chief forced out over the scandal, gave evidence to MPs today(Image: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire)‌Robbins did not speak up even when the PM was telling Parliament and the country that Mandelson had been cleared.That vow of silence remained even when his boss, the then Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald, spoke to Robbins as part of a review after Mandelson’s sacking.So Keir Starmer’s critics have been proved wrong in spad...